Basho: Boston sushi comparable to Vancouver
Basho Japanese Restaurant, 1338 Boylston Street, Boston, MA
1338 Boylston Street, Boston, MA
To our delight, we finally found a sushi restaurant comparable to Vancouver sushi! In Vancouver, we used to live near a mid-priced sushi restaurant that we loved so much sometimes when we were too lazy to cook, we’d walk there for dinner. We even brought visitors there on numerous occasions. The thing about sushi in Vancouver is that even if it’s a cheap restaurant, the sashimi still tastes incredible. That’s what I miss most about Vancouver. But I found out about Basho Japanese Restaurant when they started following me on Instagram and I just had to try some of the delicious rolls and sashimi that I kept seeing on their Instagram feed.
Across the street from a Tasty Burger in Boston and in a neighbourhood with both hipster restaurants, new condos and coffee shops in the shadow of Fenway Park, we could tell this place would be packed on game nights. Thankfully, we visited on a night when there wasn’t a game so there wasn’t much traffic and we found parking easily.
Basho Japanese Restaurant, 1338 Boylston Street, Boston, MA
We decided to share the sashimi platter and three rolls. The sashimi platter was beautifully plated and tasted as good as it looked. The fish was fresh and delicious. We haven’t tasted yellow tail this fresh since we visited Hawaii last fall (where sashimi and sushi is as delicious as Vancouver). The squid sashimi was also the perfect texture, slightly chewy, enough to give just the right amount of resistance.
Basho Japanese Restaurant, 1338 Boylston Street, Boston, MA
We also couldn’t resisted ordering the pork belly bun. The buns came in a traditional bamboo steamer but of course they were no match for Momofuku. The buns were still fluffy albeit slightly soggy since I stopped to take the below photo. The pork belly was juicy and fatty and I loved the generous amount of hoisin sauce in the bun even though that amount of sauce really isn’t necessary for such a small bun.
Basho Japanese Restaurant, 1338 Boylston Street, Boston, MA
Basho Japanese Restaurant, 1338 Boylston Street, Boston, MA
The three rolls we selected were the Tiger roll, the Yuzu Yellowtail roll and the Red Spider roll. The Red Spider roll turned out to be my favourite, the crunchy soft shell crab fried to perfection and was a lovely crunchy and salty contrast to the smooth, silky red tuna wrapped on the outside of the roll.
Basho Japanese Restaurant, 1338 Boylston Street, Boston, MA
The Yuza Yellowtail roll was also equally delicious, featuring delicious seared yellowtail and the roll was topped with black tobiko which I have never tried before. The black tobiko turned out to be a bit more bitter than the ruby reddish and orange tobiko that I’m used to. The Tigar Roll was as delicious as it was decorative. I would totally re-visit Basho, if only for that scrumptious sashimi platter.
Basho Japanese Restaurant, 1338 Boylston Street, Boston, MA
Basho Japanese Restaurant, 1338 Boylston Street, Boston, MA